


Whiff

by grayorca, YearwalktheWorld



Series: Skynet: 900 [5]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Wings, Fluff, Gen, Platonic Relationships, Upgraded Connor | RK900 Has a Different Name
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-28
Updated: 2019-02-28
Packaged: 2019-11-06 18:51:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17945171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grayorca/pseuds/grayorca, https://archiveofourown.org/users/YearwalktheWorld/pseuds/YearwalktheWorld
Summary: Wings AU. It’s in the user’s manual, Gavin.





	Whiff

**Author's Note:**

> Shameless ripoff of _Hannibal_ is shameless.
> 
> Mini sequel to _Smoking Mad_. Rated only for language.

Arriving at a happy medium with regard to the Alvarez case, Noah supposed any further attempts to talk Gavin into returning home - contrary to what the detective had promised to do - would be better off delayed. The man said he would go back to the apartment. He simply hadn’t stipulated when. Noah wouldn’t write that promise off as broken simply because it had been (indefinitely?) delayed.

The next misunderstanding to ensue was considerably less dire than interviewing their long-sought-after witness before they grew too restless and invoked their right to an attorney.

Alas, this didn’t render it any less awkward.

——-

Without taking eyes off the tablet, Noah remained sitting on the corner of the desk, wings cupped against his shoulders. He thought about what it sounded like for all of four milliseconds, then asked:

“Did you just smell me?”

“Eh?” Gavin mumbled, standing behind him, seemingly out of it for the moment, before it registered just what Noah said. His head snapped back up to give him a narrow eyed look. “What? No! I'm fuckin’ sick.” Selling the idea, or because it was actually bothering him, the man gruffily wiped at his running nose.

So that was his proximity sensors acting up? The man hadn’t been leaning closer to his shoulder ten seconds prior? And that wasn’t the slightly mucus-obstructed sound of oxygen being aspirated through the nose?

Glancing sidelong over his shoulder, then deigning to turn his head, Noah frowned. “I see. I hope my default aroma doesn’t offend you, in any case.”

“What the fuck - ‘default aroma’?” Gavin's nose crinkled as he seemingly tried to think the words through, before giving up with a cough. “What… is that?”

“It’s just what it sounds like, Detective - the naturally-apparent scent emitted by my clothes and false epidermis.”

“...There’s nothing natural-sounding about that.”

No, perhaps not.

Letting the frown fade away, Noah turned his focus back to the transcripted interview in the screen. “Still, were you not ill, I hope it isn’t unpleasant. I can always recalibrate as needed.”

“Like… make it stronger, or some shit?” Gavin shuffled his way into being more in line with Noah, still looking confused over the turn in conversation. “Or straight up change it? To what?”

Blinking, Noah met that with a raised eyebrow. Detective Reed really didn’t grasp the idea of androids being there at the pleasure and behest of humans. Even for his supposed dislike of their kind, he seemed to need constant reminders to give his partner orders. That that was what Noah was there for.

Calling each other friend was just a mean to bridge social gaps, wasn’t it? Make their working dynamic more efficient?

“Whatever you want it to be, Detective. It’s of no consequence to me either way.”

“Ugh. I hate when you fuckin’ talk like that, Noah.” Gavin shook his head, as if it really did bother him. “You like it? Or would you change it?”

Technically, he wasn’t meant to care. His olfactory nodes registered the smell of his surroundings, and those around him, at all times, besides himself. And he was originally sent out in CyberLife-mandated settings, altering them as needed, from the start. That was one he hadn’t yet had cause to change.

Raising a hand to sniff at the black cuff of his sleeve would be too obvious. Tilting his head down, chin against collar, he inhaled and considered.

“It seems… pleasant enough. I mean, insofar as I would think.” Pausing, reassessing the bizarreness of the last minute, the android frowned again. “Honestly, though, was that sniff deliberate?”

Gavin scoffed at him, but looked away, as if he were embarrassed. “Fuck off, Noah.”

No. It didn’t seem like there was an easy answer to that.

But then, they never seemed to be with Gavin Reed.


End file.
